Montero faces off with the PP's top brass: The Treasury will detail the financing model to them today

MadridExactly two months ago, María Jesús Montero informed the regional finance and economy ministers that she would present them with a proposal for a new regional financing model between January and February. This Wednesday, the First Vice President and Minister of Finance will keep her promise. Following an agreement between the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) and the Spanish government on a new model, and after outlining its main points to the media, Montero is meeting with the regional finance ministers to inform them of the details of the new system. The autonomous communities that share the common financing regime (all except the Basque Country and Navarre) are convened for a Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF) meeting this Wednesday morning in Madrid.

With this meeting, Pedro Sánchez's government will gauge the feasibility of passing the proposal, which will require the approval of the Congress of Deputies, at least from the entire investiture bloc, and Junts has already distanced itself. For this reason, the central government is also looking to the PP, which governs in almost all the autonomous communities. However, the party leadership has rejected the proposal agreed upon with ERC: "It's a blow to equality in Spain," in the words of the Deputy Secretary for Regional Coordination, Elías Bendodo. Most of its members have also expressed their opposition. malesAlthough some urged caution, "The figures don't look bad, but we need to know more," said the Valencian Regional Minister of Economy and Finance, José Antonio Rovira Jover. In fact, if anything characterizes the debate on the financing model, it's the conflicting interests between regions, even those of the same political affiliation—Emiliano García-Page (PSOE), from Castilla-La Mancha, for example, has also criticized the new model. In any case, the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has called for a meeting of the males This Sunday in Aragon, where elections will be held on February 8, the PP aimed to showcase a "common front" against Montero's proposal. However, the PP is not offering any alternative.

Therefore, sources at Moncloa criticize the PP for having "no interest" in approving a new financing model, especially given the internal divisions within its ranks. males"[The PP] is not criticizing the model that has been presented, but rather is against allocating more resources to public services to meet citizens' needs," stated the central government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, this Tuesday. Although the proposal stems from an agreement with ERC and the PSOE, this Wednesday Montero will want to open the debate to the other autonomous communities. In fact, the Minister of Finance has always tried to distance herself from the idea of "bilateralism," although the talks in recent months have been solely with the Republicans. For the Ministry of Finance, this Wednesday's Fiscal Policy Council meeting marks the beginning of a process to design a final proposal that it hopes to present to the Council of Ministers within the next two months.